Martial Arts News

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s toughest fight wasn't entirely because of the opponent he faced.

Nurmagomedov recently revealed that the most challenging bout of his career was against Justin Gaethje in 2020. The Russian successfully defended his lightweight title by putting Gaethje to sleep with a triangle choke in the second round. While Nurmagomedov says he has never been pushed to his limits in a fight, he admits Gaethje came close.

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Khabib explains why Justin Gaethje presented the toughest challenge of his undefeated career The fight was the toughest for Nurmagomedov due to several factors leading up to it. Most importantly, “The Eagle” lost his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, to Covid-19 before the bout. He claims it was difficult to stay composed after losing the person he was fighting for in the first place.

The training camp was also hard, as Nurmagomedov battled several injuries. However, the Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer managed to …

Anthony Hernandez believes his loss to Sean Strickland showed him exactly what needs to change.

Hernandez will look to rebound Saturday when he headlines UFC Sacramento against Gregory Rodrigues at Golden 1 Center.

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Anthony Hernandez details the changes he made after losing to Sean Strickland The middleweight contender spent part of his training camp at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, where he worked to address the issues exposed in the loss.

“I had to make some adjustments, as simple as that,” Hernandez said in a recent interview. “If you f*ck up, you're probably going to get f*cked up. So, it lays it right out for you nice and perfectly, what you got to adjust and fix.”

Hernandez, whose loss against Strickland came after eight straight wins, said he spent the summer away from his family to focus entirely on training, working alongside larger middleweights and sharpening his game.

“I moved away from my family for the full summer,”…

Gregory Rodrigues has an Ultimate Fighting Championship main event ahead of him, but the Brazilian has a deeper reason to appreciate the moment.

“Robocop” will headline UFC Sacramento against Anthony Hernandez on Aug. 22, marking his second time topping a UFC card. For Rodrigues, simply reaching this stage is the fulfillment of a dream that began a generation ago.

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Gregory Rodrigues reflects on his father’s influence ahead of UFC Sacramento In a recent interview, Rodrigues opened up about the significance of his upcoming bout.

“I started very young in this journey through my father,” Rodrigues told. “Like I always said, that was my father’s dream and then it became my dream and I made this dream become true. So yeah, that’s fantastic, and I’m excited. One more fight in the UFC, I’m in my second main event. Oh man, I'm just happy.”

Rodrigues has made a conscious effort to appreciate these moments rather than become consumed by the pressures that…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Markus “Maluko” Perez has reportedly been in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for more than a month while his immigration case proceeds.

According to Brazilian outlet Recorte da Luta, Perez was detained July 15 while visiting relatives in Salt Lake City. The outlet reported that he has since been transferred between detention facilities and is currently being held in California.

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Markus Perez was reportedly detained July 15 while visiting relatives in Salt Lake City A fundraiser shared through Perez’s official Instagram account is seeking $25,000 to help cover legal fees and other expenses related to the proceedings.

According to the fundraiser, Perez had been pursuing an EB-1 visa, and his request for bond was denied.

Perez, 36, competed seven times in the UFC from 2017 to 2021, compiling a 2-5 record. He later competed in several combat sports, including Karate Combat.

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Daniel Marcos didn’t take long to find a new home in the Professional Fighters League after being released from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Marcos (18-1) was surprisingly released from the UFC this past May despite scoring a submission win in his last bout in November. “Soncora” went 5-1 in the UFC, with his only career loss coming against Montel Jackson. Marcos says he was surprised by his UFC release and still doesn’t know why his exit came about.

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Daniel Marcos targets PFL champion Sergio Pettis after surprising UFC exit Despite his shocking UFC departure, Marcos is grateful to the UFC for providing him with a platform to showcase his skills at the highest level.

“More than anything, I was surprised,” Marcos told MMA Fighting. “I asked myself, ‘Why? Why did this happen?’ I had only lost once in my entire career, so I didn’t understand what was going on. I can’t control what other people decide to do. But I’m still grateful to the UFC for…

Roman Dolidze believes his light heavyweight bout against Reinier de Ridder is an intriguing clash of styles.

Dolidze is moving up to 205 pounds after spending most of his Ultimate Fighting Championship career at middleweight. The Georgian said the division suits him physically, particularly after years of dealing with the demands of making 185 pounds.

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Roman Dolidze expects his grappling and physicality to be tested against Reinier de Ridder at UFC Sacramento Both Dolidze and de Ridder are primarily known for their grappling, and the former is excited by the matchup and opportunity to prove he’s better.

“I think stylistically this fight is very interesting because he's also a very good grappler,” Dolidze said at UFC Sacramento media day. “Tall, strong guy and not bad in striking. But I think I'm much more powerful and we'll compete, compare our grappling, let's see.”

Dolidze previously called for a fight against de Ridder when they were middlew…

Reinier de Ridder believes his light heavyweight move puts the fun back into fighting.

He’s competed at middleweight during his Ultimate Fighting Championship run so far. However, following back-to-back losses at 185 pounds, de Ridder committed to the 205-pound division after enduring six weight cuts in just over a year.

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Reinier de Ridder explains why he left middleweight ahead of his Roman Dolidze fight at UFC Sacramento Ahead of his UFC light heavyweight debut against Roman Dolidze at UFC Sacramento, de Ridder opened up about the difficult weight cuts at middleweight that made the overall experience unenjoyable.

“It took all the fun out of fighting,” de Ridder said at UFC Sacramento media day. “I was basically dieting year-round, struggling to get close year-round, so it was time.”

The Dutchman said his body began showing the effects of repeated cuts, particularly after his first-round fight with Brendan Allen left him exhausted.

“I think …

Shanelle Dyer believes Elise Reed's striking style could leave her vulnerable when the two Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweights clash.

Dyer (7-1) returns to action at UFC Sacramento on Aug. 22 at Golden 1 Center against Reed (8-5), looking to build on her successful Octagon debut earlier this year. The British prospect stopped Ravena Oliveira in her UFC debut, earning a third-round technical knockout in March in London.

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Shanelle Dyer explains why Elise Reed’s striking style could create finishing opportunities at UFC Sacramento In an interview ahead of their clash, Dyer explained why she believes Reed's style could lead to a knockout.

“Stylistically, this is a part of the matchup for me… My opponent, she has a low guard taekwondo style,” Dyer said. “She is a kicker, but I am a better kicker. I have been working so much. I don’t want to give up a lot of my game plan away. But she’s very susceptible to a knockout.”

Dyer added that she has…

Michael Page and Alexander Shlemenko will share the mat in their Real American Freestyle debuts.

The promotion recently announced that the two former Bellator fighters will meet at RAF 14 on Oct. 3 in Las Vegas.

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Michael Page faces Alexander Shlemenko in his Real American Freestyle debut at RAF 14 Page is 4-1 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship since joining the promotion in 2024, with his lone loss coming via decision against Ian Garry. The British fighter previously spent much of his career with Bellator MMA, where he scored a series of highlight-reel knockouts and challenged for interim welterweight gold.

“Venom” is riding a three-fight win streak and is booked to compete at UFC Paris on Sept. 5 against Nursulton Ruziboev. Page has yet to find a finish inside the Octagon.

Meanwhile, Shlemenko brings extensive combat sports experience into his RAF debut. The 42-year-old has competed 87 times professionally, earning 35 knockout victories a…

Anthony Hernandez is firing on all cylinders ahead of his return to action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Hernandez will headline UFC Sacramento opposite Gregory Rodrigues in his home state. “Fluffy” was finished by Sean Strickland earlier this year and he’s desperate for his next bout to not go the distance.

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Anthony Hernandez targets a finish against Gregory Rodrigues after his loss to Sean Strickland Hernandez compiled an eight-fight win streak before meeting Strickland in February. The former champion secured the stoppage against Hernandez in the third round at UFC Houston, halting the latter’s momentum. He’s now ready to put the loss behind him and make a statement in his Octagon return.

“I want to hurt somebody, man,” Hernandez said in a recent interview with UFC on Paramount Plus. “I want to finish somebody. I want to f*cking make somebody hate their f*cking life. I am not here to f*cking get a decision.”

Notably, Hernandez (1…

The Professional Fighters League’s upcoming event in Florida has undergone a late change.Nkosi Ndebele replaces Gustavo Oliveira against Marcirley Alves on Aug. 22Gustavo Oliveira is out of his scheduled bantamweight matchup with Marcirley Alves at PFL Tampa, with Nkosi Ndebele stepping in as the replacement. The card is scheduled to air live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET.

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Alves (15-5) will now face Ndebele (13-3) on Aug. 22 at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa. The promotion did not provide a reason for Oliveira's withdrawal in its announcement. Alves was originally slated to face Oliveira after winning the 2025 PFL bantamweight world tournament. He will now meet Ndebele on short notice.

PFL Tampa is headlined by Cris Cyborg's women's featherweight championship defense against Ketlen Vieira.

Cris Cyborg’s final MMA bout headlines PFL Tampa: Tune in on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: New #PFLTampa Matchup…

Namo Fazil is at the center of several controversies after his failed bid at an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

Coming off a win on the inaugural Most Valuable Promotions MMA card, Fazil had a lot of hype going into his Dana White’s Contender Series outing against Kaik Brito. Fazil had also trash-talked quite a bit in the lead-up to the bout, in which Brito put him to sleep in the final round.

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Robert Valentin alleges Namo Fazil tried to choke him during a confrontation in 2023 Fazil has since claimed that his performance was affected by an assault during his weight cut. He was allegedly confronted by 15 Chechens in his hotel room while cutting weight. The alleged attack was seemingly triggered by Fazil’s comments against Chechnya ahead of his win over Chechen fighter Yakub Sulimanov last year.

UFC middleweight Robert Valentin has since accused Fazil of attacking him in Thailand in 2023. Valentin had allegedly pushed away one of Fazil’s …